Convicted felon charged in Sept. 4 Elyria car chase that ended in Eastern Heights

A Lorain man with a long criminal record who allegedly led Lorain County Sheriff's deputies on a car chase through Elyria on Sept. 4 is now facing eight felony charges in Common Pleas Court. Meanwhile, a Cleveland woman arrested with him also is charged with felony tampering with evidence. Travone Edwards, 31, of West 23rd Street, was indicted Oct. 30 on one count each of failure to comply, tampering with evidence, having weapons under disability, intimidation, carrying a concealed weapon, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and obstructing official business, all felonies. He also is facing misdemeanor charges of aggravated menacing, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, disobeying a traffic control device and a one-way street violation for his actions on Sept. 4, according to court records. Edwards also is accused of failure to comply, a felony, for allegedly fleeing from police in a separate incident on May 20, according to his charges. Neither case had been assigned to a judge as of Monday. In the Sept. 4 incident, 25-year-old Grace Stephenson of Stoke Boulevard in Cleveland faces a felony tampering with evidence charge, according to court records. Edwards and Stephenson were arrested in Elyria's Eastern Heights neighborhood at about 1:30 p.m. after a sheriff's deputy tried to stop their vehicle at Warden Avenue and Adams Street. Edwards drove off as the deputy walked up to the car, with Stephenson apparently in the back seat. The chase went through northern Elyria until Edwards stopped the car at a home on Cambridge Avenue and ran. He and Stephenson were quickly arrested and charged, and ammunition and suspected drug paraphernalia were found in the car. Suspecting someone had thrown a gun out of the car during the pursuit, deputies found one in the area, loaded with the same kind of ammunition found in the car, the sheriff's office said in a news release. Edwards has prior convictions for felony drug possession in Common Pleas Court in 2017 and 2019 and is not legally allowed to have a gun. Elyria police also said Edwards had warrants out for his arrest through the Lorain and Westlake police departments when arrested Sept. 4. The chase caused Elyria schools' Eastern Heights campus to go into a 10-minute "lockout," with its doors locked but the school day continuing as normal during the incident. Edwards has a lengthy criminal record in Lorain County dating back to at least 2015, according to court and jail records, including a conviction in federal court for robbing a Lorain County credit union. On Feb. 28, 2020, Edwards robbed the GenFed Financial Credit Union on Oberlin Avenue in Lorain. He walked in, gave a note to the bank teller demanding that the teller "Put all 50s and 100s in the bag, don't say anything, make a scene, or call the police or I will shoot," according to the FBI and federal prosecutors. Edwards got away but was identified, arrested about six weeks later and charged in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. He pleaded guilty to bank robbery in January 2023, and U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver sentenced Edwards to 53 months in prison with credit for time served. Edwards was ordered to pay $8,800 restitution to the credit union and its insurance company. Oliver in June issued a warrant for Edwards' arrest for an alleged violation of his supervised release from federal prison, according to federal court records.